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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/29402241">A Night in Valentine</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidslantern/pseuds/voidslantern'>voidslantern</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Voltron: Legendary Defender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Getting Together, Hand Job, M/M, Mutual Pining, Praise Kink, Sharing a Bed, Smut, THERE WAS ONLY ONE BED, Wild West, detectives au, low-key red dead redemption 2 au, there is a very small cameo of my good boy Arthur Morgan in here</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-02-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-13 10:00:28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Explicit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,684</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/29402241</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/voidslantern/pseuds/voidslantern</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>“...There is only one room left,” the innkeeper wheezes out, “with— with one bed—“<br/>“We’ll take it, then,” Shiro says before Keith can intervene.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Keith/Shiro (Voltron)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>70</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Sheithlentines 2021</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>A Night in Valentine</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>my part II Sheithlentines gift for Ayra!! i have made this a bit more self-indulgent but i simply couldn't resist a rdr2 AU sorry :'D</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Keith grins broadly at Shiro’s joke, hiding his laugh in a gloved fist.</p><p>It’s evening and their horses are tired after a whole day of riding through the Heartlands up north. Shiro suggests they rest for the night at the inn at a local town, rather than set up a camp under the stars again. It’s barely spring and even though it long since thawed down here, the earth is still cold and hard. Keith agrees wholeheartedly, so Valentine it is, a livestock town of little other interest.</p><p>Keith rides up to the inn’s hitching post with the same eagerness he has about him when he’s hungry and expects a hot meal soon. His mare, Freedom, tosses her long mane as Keith gives her an encouraging pat and another apple from his pocket. He then gives Shiro’s horse, Soot, a carrot, which the shire accepts with a happy huff.</p><p>“You are spoiling him,” Shiro teases as he dismounts. Keith only shrugs, giving Shiro a glance from beneath his outgrown bangs.</p><p>“He’s a good horse.”</p><p>Shiro nods, still smiling, as he puts his hand on the junior detective’s shoulder and gently pushes him inside the inn. “Let’s book our rooms first and find something hot to eat. I’m starving.”</p><p>Keith opens the door invitingly, about to sass something witty back just by the looks of that naughty spark in his mauve eyes, only for both of them to startle at the sight of how crowded it is inside the inn.</p><p>“Well, shit,” Keith mutters. They shoulder past a few distinguished gentlemen to the innkeeper, whose clothing and hair are in haphazard disarray. The man apologises, greets them, notices the badge on Shiro’s vest, and apologises again.</p><p>“You’re looking for a place to stay, sirs?” he wheezes out nervously, glancing between Shiro and Keith.</p><p>“That’s our plan,” Shiro nods, smiling amenably. He nudges Keith subtly who immediately smooths out the glower he had on his face ever since a random person as much as knocked accidentally into Shiro’s bad shoulder. “We’d like two rooms, please.”</p><p>The innkeeper pales as he quickly glances through his records.</p><p>“One room, two beds?” Keith offers.</p><p>“...There is only one room left,” the innkeeper wheezes out, “with— with one bed—“</p><p>“We’ll take it, then,” Shiro says before Keith can intervene. “I’m not freezing my ass off for another night outside.”</p><p>“S-sure,” their host nods, accepting the money from Shiro as he signs them in and gives Shiro a key to their room. “W-we’re quite tasked to capacity tonight as you can see, good agents, apologies for that.”</p><p>“What’s even caused all this?” Keith inquires. They have hardly noticed any horses outside the inn, but there are at least twenty people crammed up in the tiny parlour.</p><p>“Didn’t you hear?” a petite woman with a lovely malachite locket pipes in. “The travelling theatre of Charismatic Coran is here, doing a play every evening for the next fortnight!”</p><p>“So what?”</p><p>“Keith!” Shiro hisses. “Manners!”</p><p>“<em>So what?!</em><span> They’re an absolute hit, you cannot possibly miss their shows and be accepted in </span><span>polite</span><span> society!”</span></p><p>
  <span>Apparently, quite caught up in their case, Shiro and Keith </span>
  <span>have missed out on a rising star of theatre, a crew made out of the most talented and beautiful young actors </span>
  <span>and actresses to ever walk the earth of this country has begun a tour through all of the major settlements. Shiro and Keith have arrived just in time to see the most famous play of Charismatic Coran’s, </span>
  <em>The Voltron Show</em>
  <span>. The detectives share a glance at the odd name and politely extricate themselves from the overeager woman’s clutches and go up to their room to drop off their saddlebags before they go to the nearest saloon for a drink and a meal.</span>
</p><p>“Well, I can always sleep on the floor,” Keith offers as the two men survey the narrow bed fit either for a single person or for a pair of newly-weds.</p><p>“Out of the question, Keith,” Shiro says. “Have you seen those rat droppings?”</p><p>Keith scrunches his nose as he tosses his saddlebags onto a small drawer squeezed in near the window. There is nothing here but the bed, the drawer, and a tall mirror by the door. There is hardly any space for Keith to lay out his sleeping bag.</p><p>The young man scrutinises the bed. “I don’t know how we are supposed to fit.”</p><p>“It’ll be fine,” Shiro reassures him. He takes off his rifle and hides it in the drawer and notices it also has a spare blanket inside. Keith doesn’t part with his twin revolvers, nor does Shiro let go of his trusty Colt.</p><p>
  <span>They may be in civilization now, but the more people </span>
  <span>are</span>
  <span> here, the more crime condenses. Working for </span>
  <span>the </span>
  <span>Altea Investigations has been a big dream of Shiro’s growing up an orphan since his parents were killed by some crazed outlaw on the run. He’s risen through the ranks quick</span>
  <span>ly and became</span>
  <span> the youngest senior detective in history. No one questioned Shiro when he brought an orphan kid quite like himself one day, found drowning in the endless cycle of violence in one of the most notorious gangs of </span>
  <span>the </span>
  <span>Wild West, the Galra. Keith was young back then, hardly fifteen. </span>
  <span>Now, five years later, he’s growing comfortable in his role as Shiro’s partner, and together they’ve solved enough cases to gain fame. </span>
</p><p>The Altea Investigations aren’t like the Pinkertons. They don’t do bounty hunting, nor do they bring any and all outlaw they catch simply for profit. The Altea Investigations deal in domestic crime, investigating murder, theft, arson, kidnappings, etc. Now, Shiro and Keith are on a murder case, chasing down a thief turned killer during a job gone wrong. Shiro wants to talk to the woman before making any harsh decisions, but their boss, Allura, has been quite clear in her warnings about the criminal. This can turn ugly.</p><p>Keith’s belly’s grumble returns Shiro back to reality.</p><p>“Right. Food. Let’s go, Keith.”</p><p>
  <span>There is a small saloon-slash-brothel for them to grab some food and drinks, and two detectives take the only remaining free table, stuffed </span>
  <span>at</span>
  <span> the very back. Keith eyes the barber as the man works deftly on a rough-looking gentleman’s beard and outgrown hair. Shiro can’t help the tease in his voice.</span>
</p><p>“Are you finally contemplating a haircut, Detective Kogane?”</p><p>Keith’s long slim fingers play with the tip of his thick braid. Shiro traces every movement with the hunger of a different kind churning in the pit of his belly.</p><p>“<span>I just think that feller has nice knife moves,” the young man huffs back. His gaze rests on Shiro for a moment too long, and then they both focus on stuffing their bellies full of local cuisine, the conversation dying down out of </span><span>the </span><span>necessity of chewing thoroughly. </span><span>After living off plain game for over a week, only every so often spiced up with whatever plants either Shiro </span><span>and</span><span> Keith </span><span>were</span><span> able to find in the wilderness, this meal feels like nectar and ambrosia to them both. </span></p><p>When the detectives return to their room, it is rather late at night. Both of them are in higher spirits than they were when contemplating their sleeping arrangements. With only a single grumble of surprising shyness, Keith strips down to his drawers and joins Shiro in bed.</p><p>“Well, this is snug,” Shiro mumbles. Keith is trying to avoid contact as much as it is possible but only ends up shimmying to the very edge of the narrow bed. Shiro has to rescue him from falling off, and now both men are curled into each other, Shiro’s chin resting atop Keith’s head, his arm firm around his slim waist as he holds Keith close.</p><p>The tension in Keith’s body doesn’t escape Shiro’s attention. He’s like a bowstring pulled taut, every muscle coiled and rigid. He’s going to cramp so bad if he’s trying to sleep like this.</p><p>“Keith? Is everything alright?”</p><p>“Y-yes. Of course. W-why it wouldn’t be?”</p><p>Shiro sighs, ruffling a little stubborn sprout of hair atop Keith’s head. “Keith—“</p><p>The young man shifts, just so, his small ass bumping into Shiro’s thigh on accident and… It’s almost too much. Shiro’s focus narrows down to where they touch and where they don’t, and it’s torture coupled with Keith’s scent and warmth and Shiro’s raging crush on him.</p><p>He cannot define the day when he began to fall for Keith, and now, he considers it only natural for the tightness of their friendship to begin to mean something much more.</p><p>Shiro may have saved Keith when they’ve first met (Keith stole Soot and Shiro’s old partner was determined to make a shot but Shiro stopped him and chased after Keith on a borrowed horse; they ended up too close to the Galra camp and their escape is a whole other story) but since then, Keith has saved Shiro so many times he’s beginning to feel embarrassed about his penchant to get into trouble. Keith, however, brushes off all Shiro’s attempts at guilt for worrying Keith and making him go out of his way to keep Shiro alive and well. No, Keith only ever says “you saved me first” and that’s that in his book.</p><p>Shiro has fallen in love with him somewhere along with their adventures and it is the best thing in his life and also the worst.</p><p>He fears Keith doesn’t feel the same way about him, nor even swings that way at all. In all the years Shiro’s known Keith, he’s never seen Keith be interested in anyone at all, men and women alike. He never dared to hope until… Well. Until Allura pulled Shiro down for a talk in her office and reminded him of protocol and acting professional while on the job; that he mustn’t let his feelings compromise the mission. And after, her gaze softened and she patted Shiro’s hand and said she is happy for him.</p><p>
  <span>Back </span>
  <span>then, Shiro couldn’t understand what it was about. But during their journey, Keith’s mentioned a similar discussion he’s had with Allura and suddenly it all clicked for Shiro.</span>
</p><p>He might be wrong, of course. But he cannot live suspended in the air like this any more. And if he’s right… It’s worth the risk.</p><p>Shiro knows Keith isn’t asleep yet. He’s just as tense and forces himself not to move too much lest he’d disturb Shiro. It is adorable, in a way, but Shiro wants Keith well and rested.</p><p>He begins with rubbing soothing circles into Keith’s narrow waist, his fingers skittering higher up his side sometimes. Keith lets out a sigh and startles when Shiro delves to brush his knuckles over Keith’s belly.</p><p>“What the hell are you doing?” Keith whispers in the dead of night, turning just enough to stare at Shiro.</p><p>And Shiro… Well, his heart has nearly stopped, his mind helpfully telegraphing “you’ve fucked up” to him, but… Even in the semi-darkness of this room, their only light a gas lamp just outside their window, he can see Keith’s darkened cheeks and a wildfire in his eyes.</p><p>“Helping you relax,” Shiro murmurs. He hardly breathes now, moving slowly as he explores the planes of Keith’s belly and chest. “Tell me when to stop,” Shiro adds when all Keith does is to gaze at him with an unreadable expression.</p><p>Keith nods, and Shiro grows a fraction bolder and a fraction harder in his drawers. Beneath his fingers, Keith is all smooth skin and strong muscle, his lithe form betraying no hint of his impressive strength and agility. Shiro yearns to put his lips to work, too, he even leans in a little too close to Keith, their noses brushing briefly before he catches himself and pulls away.</p><p>
  <span>Shiro so likes to say “patience yields focus” but now he has no patience when Keith is in his arms, sprawled in his bed.</span>
  <span> His crush is bad. Really bad. Heartache and losing himself in daydreaming kind of bad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Keith’s throat bobs as he swallows down nervously. Shiro’s massage has delved lower, beneath Keith’s navel, </span>
  <span>his fingers teasing just beneath the band of Keith’s loose drawers. He searches the younger man’s face but they both are lost in the moment, in the oddness of their friendship and professional relationship mixing into </span>
  <span>just</span>
  <span> what kind of relaxation Shiro is suggesting.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Shiro isn’t new to sex, being older than Keith by seven years, but with his careful exploration </span>
  <span>of Keith’s body, Shiro suddenly realises it might be new to Keith. To share this kind of touch, this kind of intimacy.</span>
</p><p>Shiro is a bit disgusted with himself for being thrilled by the idea but here he is.</p><p>Even then, not finding any rejection in Keith’s expression, Shiro lets his hand slide low, past the soft curls of Keith’s happy trail as it thickens, until he finds Keith hard in his undergarments.</p><p>“Keith, I—“</p><p>
  <span>The kiss is sudden, but Keith’s lips are honey-sweet as they crush clumsily against Shiro’s mouth. The</span>
  <span>y</span>
  <span> both let out sounds, huffs of surprise and little desperate gasps and then all Shiro knows is that Keith is kissing him </span>
  <span>as he strokes Keith’s cock to full, no doubt aching, hardness.</span>
</p><p>It’s too late to ask if they both are sure about this.</p><p>They move with urgency, and Shiro likes to think it is to catch up with all the months, years even, when they could have been doing this. Keith twists in bed until they are chest-to-chest. It’s easier to kiss, and oh they do, with Keith’s blunt nails digging into Shiro’s scalp as he works on milking pre-come out of Keith.</p><p>“Is this good?” he asks the moment Keith pulls away to focus on undoing a stubborn button of Shiro’s undershirt.</p><p>The young detective may have a stone-cold face when dealing with bastards and assholes of all kinds, but here, with Shiro… It’s too dark to read all of the micro-expressions that run across Keith’s face. His voice, however, betrays him enough.</p><p>“It’s more than good.” He kisses him again and Shiro nearly cries at the tenderness of it. “You’re more than good.”</p><p>Shiro then focuses entirely on bringing pleasure to Keith. Each flick of his wrist, each long, drawn-out thrust of his hand — everything and all to send Keith whimpering, chest heaving as he tries to suck in enough air for his next low grunt. Shiro also cannot help the murmurs of praise and encouragement spilling from his lips. Keith takes them all with as much desire and build-up of closing-in release as he takes the pump of Shiro’s tight fist. It isn’t long until he spills in Shiro’s hand with a filthy, open-mouthed moan that shoots straight back to Shiro’s neglected dick.</p><p>“Such a good baby,” Shiro praises. He considers the mess that’s become of his palm and brings it to his lips, licking Keith’s seed clean off as he comes down from his high and stares at Shiro in open fascination. “So delicious, too.”</p><p>“<span>How can </span><em>that</em><span> be delicious?”</span></p><p>“Well… It’s yours. Of course it will be, Keith.”</p><p>The other man blushes and buries his face in Shiro’s chest, his warm breath ghosting over Shiro’s exposed skin.</p><p>“<span>If this is </span><span>your idea of helping a feller relax…”</span></p><p>“Mhm?”</p><p>“Wouldn’t want to share you with anyone else,” Keith grumbles after a beat of silence.</p><p>Shiro can’t help a little laugh. “You won’t have to. You’ve stolen my heart a long time ago.”</p><p>“Soot ain’t your heart!”</p><p>“I care about that horse and look what he’s done — made me meeting the most important person in my life happen in the most spectacular fashion.”</p><p>Keith shakes with laughter as he lifts himself enough to plant small kisses over Shiro’s brow, nose, cheeks, lips. Slowly, he brings their hips together and Shiro gasps at the contact, forgetting all but Keith.</p><p>“I may have stolen your horse and your heart, Shiro,” Keith whispers, voice so achingly tender, “but know that your have my body and soul and every second of my life, in your hands, as well.”</p><p>Shiro has to blink away the sudden tears.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>a bit of a disclaimer about the Pinkertons. they aren't as "evil" as opposed to how they are portrayed in the game and, subsequently, hinted at in this fic, however, i chose to follow RDR2 on this one. say, imagine the Pinkertons here as evil, will-catch-you-for-profit kind of a deal who would imprison Jean Valjean for that loaf of bread, while the Altea Investigations mostly focuses on not only finding the truth, but also redeeming/helping people where possible. the fic's too short to flesh it all out and i am nowhere near a good a writer, so have some meta in A/N lol</p></blockquote></div></div>
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